Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Tears in the dock

Oscar Pistorius has reportedly been bawling like a baby in court during the very preliminary phases of the proceedings against him for allegedly murdering his girlfriend.

Strange, in a way, that such waterworks are so rare in these big public trials. Here are people who are accused of having utterly ruined their own lives as well as taking other lives, and may well also be racked with guilt. At best they are facing unimaginable months of physical deprivation and mental anguish.

You'd think weeping inconsolably in court would be utterly standard behavior, but it seems that most defendants affect a stolid demeanor.

Apropos of which, innocent until and unless proven guilty, of course, but my goodness....who fires willy-nilly into a locked lavatory door on the mere suspicion that a home invader is secreted inside?

I realize from my sparring with gun folks over the Hale Demar story nearly 10 years ago that many of you think it's OK to ventilate anyone who crosses your threshold uninvited, but if there had been a bad guy hiding in the loo, Pistorius would not have been justified in killing him.

Posted at 06:01:18 PM

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He should get together with Congressman John "Tan Man" Boehner. Then they could star in the opera "Pagliacci".

Here, I'll fix this for you guys. Living in a mansion makes it more difficult to know where the "occupants" are (I suppose). Antigun people are always claiming the gun in the home will most likely be used on an "occupant". But that claim only applies to the most irresponsible.

Could Pistorius have simply waited another minute for his Intruder to open the bathroom door (located in the master bedroom) ?

If he were really terrified, would he not give the monster time to exit thru the bathroom window (and spare the ARMED Pistorius) ?

Did cops teach Pistorius to shoot at the first sound of another person (a very dangerous practice) ?

Have police now been paid off by the millionaire Pistorius ?

Fact: I know where my precious sex slave is at all times; I would never eagerly and recklessly shoot in my home.

If Pistorius succeeds in paying off the establishment, he will be blacklisted for life (guaranteed). He won't ever be free again. I'm a hardline proponent of gun possession. Pistorius was to guard with his life that beautiful woman. Instead he shot her dead.

"but if there had been a bad guy hiding in the loo, Pistorius would not have been justified in killing him."

I don't think you can fairly make that blanket statement. If someone breaks into your house, you have to assume that he's armed. All of this brings up a lot of scenarios that require quick judgment and can get pretty grey in a hurry. If he gives up and surrenders to you, that's one thing. If you get the jump on him and can restrain him then you can probably get away with giving him a good thrashing, but you have a legal obligation to hold him for police rather than kill him. Also, there's a difference between someone who breaks down your door while you're there (fire away) and someone who you catch when you come home (depends).

What if someone is hiding? I think you have an obligation to call police and the most you can do is hold him in that room and tell him not to come out. If he disobeys your order and does come out, let him have it. If he stays put, then wait for police. If he stays put but it seems like he's up to something (you hear clicking noises or he's making threats) then it gets grey again.

That is a very bad idea and is extremely dangerous in a lot of situations. You never want to turn your back on a criminal whom you have cornered and you don't want to get yourself out of a good defensive position in case he emerges to come after you. If you make a break for it, what's to say he's not going to come out and shoot you in the back? I would never take that chance. Yes, always call the police but don't take your eyes off of that door until they get there and secure the area.

--Certainly as a lawyer, you must have learned to be precise in your language usage. You clearly cannot "self-deport" anyone else, definitionally. And if you're benefiting from economic activity generated by illegal immigrants, shouldn't you turn yourself in for strict sanctions along with those employers who won't use e-verify? Finally, I think you should probably go check on them - I have a hunch that no one could survive long in your bathroom, given the noxiousness of some of the stuff that comes out of the *upper* end of you.

Z - the last stat I read was from a CDC study several years ago, before the budget for these studies was cut (by Republicans in Congress, influenced by the NRA). It showed that a gun in the home was 43 times more likely to injure a family member or friend than an intruder. Of course this included suicides (the 2nd highest cause of deaths in teens, I think, and most are by guns easily available at home), but 43 times allows for a lot of both suicides & friend/family shootings.

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